This invention relates to lamps and, more particularly, to a novel and useful bracket for shock mounting an incandescent bulb within a housing for a lamp that is particularly intended for use with motorized vehicles such as over-the-road trucks and the like.
Many different types of lamps are used on motor vehicles and are, as a result, subject to frequent vibrations and mechanical shocks. Unless the incandescent bulbs of such lamps are protected from such vibrations and shocks, they may fail quite rapidly.
In the past, several forms of prior-art means have been provided for "shock mounting" a bulb within a housing for lamps that are to be employed on motor vehicles. Typical forms of such prior-art mountings are shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,300,636 (Quelland et al); 3,327,110 (Baldwin) and 3,666,940 (Magi).
All three of the aforenoted forms of prior-art shock resistant bulb mountings attempt to cushion the bulbs by damping out the vibrations before they are imparted to the bulbs. However, as particularly pointed out in the Magi patent, one must carefully balance the degree of movement of the bulb that is permitted by the mounting for the purpose of shock and vibration damping against possible excessive displacement of the bulb from its desired proper location with respect to the lamp lens. And, in an effort to control this problem of excessive bulb displacement, Magi integrally forms his bulb socket shock mounting strip with his lamp housing, rather than employing for the bulb socket shock mounting either the hooked springs of Quelland et al or the strip of Baldwin that is pivotally connected to the lamp housing by a pair of round apertures located at its opposite ends which are respectively slipped over a pair of cylindrical pillars that project from the lamp housing.
While the aforenoted Magi form of bulb shock mounting may offer the advantages claimed by its patentee over those older prior-art forms shown by Quelland et al and Baldwin, Magi's requirement that his bulb shock mounting be integrally formed with his lamp housing presents certain other readily apparent disadvantages.
The present invention is, among other things, concerned with providing a novel bulb shock mounting which overcomes the aforenoted problems of the older prior-art forms of Quelland et al and Baldwin, while also avoiding the aforenoted disadvantages of the newer prior-art form of Magi.
It is yet another purpose of the present invention to provide a novel bulb shock mounting that is still further structurally distinguished over the aforenoted prior-art forms of mountings in that the radial center of its bulb receiving socket is offset from the long central axis of the shock absorbing means which interconnect that socket to the lamp housing.